Railway-switch mechanism



Feb. 16 1925.

Y J. J. OROURKE RAILWAY SWITCH MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 51925 'Feb. 16 .1926.

J. J. O'ROURKE mum: svmca uzcmmrsn Filed 001;. 5,1925

Patented Feb. 16, 1926-.-

unrreo;

RAILW'ALY-SWITCHFMKECHANISM.'

Application filed october 5; -12 2 5. -,Seria1-No. 60,563.

1 all 10 720771 it may concern it knownthat 1, JOHN J. ORoUn-KE, a

citizen of; the United States. residing at Harrisburg, iIl lZ'hGCOUDt-yof Dauphin and Y State of Pennsylvania, have im'ented' new and; useful.Improvements in. Railway- Swit-ch Mechanisms, otwhich the following isa'specification. p

Thisinvention relates to railway switch mechanisms for railavavsystems0t all kinds,

and has particular reference to switch mechanisms of that typeadapted tobetoperated by means under the control of the'niotor- 1nan,;engineer ordriver of avehicle forv controlling, travel between intersecting tracksor lines: I

One object of the intention, is to' provide a mechanically-actuatedswitch; mechanism of simple, construction which maytbe easilyandwconveni'ently operated from a vehicle without the; necessity of the;motor-man, engineer or clri-ver leaving; his position on thevehicle,-and w iereby also the use oiswitchmen; at the switch points amay be obviated.

ianether ,object of the invention isto provide, a switch: mechanismwhich dispenses witilittheiuse of springs-or other parts liable to getout of order and the throw otwhich lllibOtll directions may be effectediromthe travelingvehicles; a t l Still {another object; of the inventionis to provide a switch imechanisin which comprises a comparatively smallnumber of parts of durablev character and so constructed and arranged asnot toiintertere with ordinary street or road trafiic on to be daroagedthereby or rendered inoperative by climatic conditions. 7

The invention consists oi the ieaturesot construction, combination and.-arrangement of, parts, l1.reii1atter fully; descrihed alld claimed-,5referencebeing, had-t0 the accompa:n ying; tlrawing s, in1which:-

Fgure l is atop plan View of the switch tracks and: adi'nsted fordirecting travel along one ofthe tracks. i

Figure Qis :a vertical longitudinal section on line 22 oi- Figure 1,also. showing in section a portion of avehicleand'theswitch throwingdevices atone si'de of the vehicle,

saiddevices-being-arranged in normal position; 7 V Figure 8: is: a Viewsimilar to, Figurel showing the switch mechanism adjusted; for

directing travel along the other track.

of a street railway oruother system.

mechanism arranged at two intersecting" Figure i is a fragmentary viewon alien-- larged scale snn larto Figure 2, showing the switch throwingdevice in operation,

Figure is a vertical transverse section taken substantially on the planeindicated by line 5 5 01 ,lfiigure 2-.

Figure 6 is van enlarged detailsection taken online 6-'6 o'tl igure 1.

Figure 7 ,isa detailview showings. modititration,

Referring. now more particularly to the drawings l, 2 and 2, and 3, 3and at respectively, designate the rails of two intersectingtracks,whiclrmay be the tracks of a trunk line, a, street railway line, ,aninter urban line, the niainrailway or other similar railwa gon whichtravel vehicles driven by any suitahle power, such as steam, compressedair, electricity, etc. In practice the trachsinay be twoniain divisions,or amain track and, abranchtrack, turnout or siding, F or convenienceofdescription, the track formed by the rails- 1,@2 and2fmay bete -rileda main line track, and the trackfornicd by the rails V 3,; 3*: andv stabranch line track 'l heicontinuity of the rail 2'is broken atthe-pointot intersection, of the rails 3 and at therewith, the shorttrack, section 2 being placed between the endsof the rail, members 2joined to the rail members 3 and i, one end i 7 ot' the rail 2% and thejuxtaposed, end of the rail 3* being; se aerated. from the rails 2 andat their point 0t unction for tree passage oi the flanges of the carwheels thereover, as

will be. readily understood. The end of the rail 3 whichis adjacent tothe rail 1 is spaced: therefrom and provided with a bevel'ed portion; e,parallel therewith, Between thegother end, of the raih 2 and the end ofthe rail member 2 connected with the ail member et'isarranged alaterally movable switch tongue 5, said tongue being pivoted atone endto'the rail 2, as indicated at 6, and having its free end provided witha beveled surface 7, adapted in one position of the switch; tongueo toengage the adjacent sides of therails Qand 4: attheir point ofintersection. The bevel :of' the surface 7, however, is such that thetip of this beveled end 013 the tongue 5 when in such position, asshownin Figure 3; is spaced slightly out of contact with; the joinedportions oi the rails 2 and 4. A guidetube orsleeve 8 is arrangedtransversely; ofthe-rails 1 and 2 at the switch point and: suitablyfixed in the llt road bed, and s'lidably mounted in this guide 8 is arod 9, pivoted at one end to the beveled end of the rail 5, as indicatedat 10, and having at its opposite end, lying adjacent to the rail 1, anobliquely disposed or beveled contact head 11, for a purpose hereinafterdescribed.

Arranged for cooperation with the laterally movable switch tongue 5 andcoacting parts of the rails and the head 11 are longitudina-lly movablespear-shaped or arrow-' head-shaped switch tongues 12 and 13, eachhaving a straight outer face for sliding contact with the adjacent rail1 or 2 and each having a beveled or inclined inner face 14-. Thesetongues 12 and 13 are carried respec tively by rods 15 and 16, on theforward ends of which they are arranged, which rods extend rearwardly onthe near side of the switch or junction point for some distance parallelwith the rails 1 and 2 and terminate at their rear ends in contact heads17. Each rod is mounted in a suitable number of supporting guides 18,each guide consisting of a pair of bracket members 19 and 20 bolted orotherwise suitably fastened to the rail, said track members being formedwith semicircular half bearings 21 cooperating to form a bearing for therod. This construction adapts the bearing members when worn to beremoved for ready and convenient replacement. Such construction alsopermits the lower bearing member of any bearing, which sustains thegreatest wear, to be removed independently of the upper bearing memberwhen worn, so that a new lower bearing member may be applied without thenecessity of removing and discarding an upper bearing member which maystill be in good serviceable condition.

The switch rods 15 and 16 are coupled for sliding motion in unison by atransversely disposed link or lever 22. This link or lever is slidablyand pivotally connected at its ends to the rods, so that it may swingpast center to opposite angular positions, as shown in Figures 1 and 3,from a straight transverse line, through which movements the rods 15 and16 may be slid or shifted longitudinally alternately in oppositedirections or back and forth, so as to respectively project and retractthe switch tongues 12 and 13, or vice versa. At its intermediate pointthe link or lever 22 is fixed to the top plate of a turntable 23, thebottom plate of which is suitably fastened to the road bed,anti-friction bearings 24 of ball or other suitable type being providedbetween the turntable plates to reduce friction and wear and permit theupper turntable plate to have requisite freedom of turning movement.When the lever 22 is disposed in the position shown in Figure 1, theswitch tongue 12 will be retracted and the switch tongue 13 projected.By this means the tongue 12 is withdrawn from engagement with the head11 to allow the tongue 5 to have inward movement and from engagementwith the end 1 of the rail 3, while the tongue 13 is moved forwardbetween the adjacent rails and the beveled surface 7 of the tongue 5 sothat it acts as a spreader wedge to force the tongue 5 inwardly, thusshifting the free end of said 7 tongue 5 away from the joined ends ofthe rails 2 and 41:. The switch mechanism will thereby be arranged toconnect the rails 1, 2 and 2 for straight line'travel along the maintrack, as will be readily understood.

lVhen the link or lever 22 is adjusted to the position shown in Figure3, the switch tongue 12 is projected and the switch tongue 13 retracted.When so projected the switch tongue 12 will be moved so that its tiplies between the beveled end 1 of rail 3 and the rail 1 and so that itsinclined side 1-1 engages the head 11., whereby in its forward movementthe tongue 13 acting as a spreader wedge will shift the switch tongue5-outwardly so that its beveled end 7 is moved into contact with therail members 2 and l at their point of junction. The recession orretraction of the switch tongue 13 permits this to be done, although therearward movement of the tongue 13 is such that whenit is retracted itstip lies in the space between the tip of the surface 7 and the junctionpoint of the rails 2 and 4, so that saidtongue 13 will be in positionfor a wedging action on the surface 7 to swing the tongue 5 inward on anensuing forward movement of rod 16. The movement of the parts to theposition shown in Figure 3 breaks the connection between the main linerails 1, 2 and 2 and makes the connection between the branch line rails3, 3 and at and the main line rails for travel of the vehicles in onedirection. from the main line onto the branch line. It will thus be seenthat reverse movements of the switch members, including the lever 22 andrails 15 and 16 causes the switch mechanism to be positively thrown fordirecting the cars or other vehicles for straight line travel on themain tracker for directing such cars or vehicles for travel from themain track onto the branch track. A easing 25 is set in the road bed onthe inner side of each rail 1 and 2 beneath the rear ends of the-rods 15and 16, each casing being closed by a top plate or cover 26 providedwith a longitudinal slot 27 of restricted width. Arranged in each casing25 is a counterweighted eccentrically pivoted lever 28 having a throwarm 29 provided witha cam surface 29, said arm projecting outwardlythrough the slot 27 and upwardly on the inner side of the rail 1 or 2.Through its counterweighted action each throw lever normally maintainsits arm 29 in an upright position so that its cam face engages with thecontact head 17 of the coacting rod 15 ,or 16, when said rod is in itsrearward or retracted position. The levers 28 are adapted to beindependently operated as the case may require to shifit the rod or therod'lti forward, in which; forward motionof either rod end theactioir'of its thrust lever the other rod is n'ioved rearwardly orretracted through the lover or link connection 22.

' Arranged at each side oi the tront plattorirof the car orvehicle-'30,- or at other suitable points thereon, are dugiicate'sets ofswitch throwing devices for actuating the respective rods 15 and 16. isshown, each setot switchthrowing devices comprises a hel i-cra'nlt lever31 pivoted intermediately on a bracketSZ and having a' downturned end 33and an upturned end 3%; The end of the lever 3 is adapted,when-=depressed, to arm 29 ot the associated=throw lever ficl and shiftthe-same'on a rod-actuating motion. The upturned end 34 of lever 31 isslidably and pivot-ally coupled to one end of a motion transmittinglever 35 intern'iediately pivoted on a bracket 36 and the opposite endof which is slidably and pivotally connected with the stem of aspringretracted operating member 37, which may hea depressible pedal orfoot piece. The normal position of the foregoing parts is shown inFigure 2, and the thrown position or" such parts is illustrated inFigure 4-. itssuming that the motorman of a car, for example, which isapproaching the junction point, desires to route his car from main linetravel for which the switch mechanism is set, as shown in Figure 1, fortravel there from onto the branch line, it will be understood that themotorma-n depresses the foot piece 37 to project end 33 of lever 31downward to cause it to strike arm 29 of lever 28, which action willcause rod 15 to be forced forward and rod 16 retracted, with the resultof shifting the switch mechanism from the position shown in Figure 1 tothat shown in Figure 3. On the other hand, it the motorman, on his carapproaching the junction,'finds the switch mechanism in the positionshown in Figure 3 and his car is routed to travel straight along themain line, he (the motorman) by operating the other set of switchthrowing devices may operate lever 28 associated with rod 16 to causethe switch mechanism to be shifted to the position shown in Figure 1.The object of employing the cam surface 29' is to secure an easy andprogressivemovement to rod 15 without jolts or jars or any tendency todown thrust.

In Figure 7 I have shown a modified form of eccentrically pivoted camthrow lever 28', said lever having a throw arm 29 and a cam surface 29".In this construction the cam surface is formed upon the body of thelever, which 1; ay be eccentrically mounted, if desired, upon the sideof the rail. This conbe seen that the invention provides aswitchmechanism which. when installed, will not interfere with ordinaryvehicular trailic at a junctionpoint, which isot a durable and easilyoperated type and not liable to be dcleteriously altectci by climaticchanges. and which is equal ly well adapted for all kinds of railwaysand to be controlled by the motormen, engineers or drivers of cars orlocomotives to control the routing of a car'or train.

While the construction disclosed is preferred, it will, of course, beunderstood that changes in the form, construction and arrangement ofparts may be made within the scope of the appended claims withoutdcparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

Having thus fully described my invention, 1 claim 1. In a railwayswitch, the combination with main and branch line rails including alaterally movable switch tongue, oi a shift ing member connected withsaid laterally movable tongue, longitudinally movable switch tonguesengageablc respectively with the laterally movable tongue and shiftingmember for shifting the said laterally niovable tongue in oppositedirections, a pair of sliding rods connected with said longitudinallymovable switch tongues, a connection between the rods for retractingeither rod when the other rod is projected and means for positivelyprojecting either rod.

52. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch line railsinchiding a pivotet switch tongue, of a shitting member connected withsaid tongue, spear-shaped sliding switch tongues having beveled surfacesengageable with the pivoted tongue and shifting member for wedgingaction for shifting the pivoted tongue in opposite directions, a pair ofsliding rods connected with said sliding switch tongues, a connectionbetween the rods for retracting either rod when the other rod isprojected, and means for positively projecting either rod.

3. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch line railsincluding a pivoted switch tongue, of a shifting member connected withsaid pivoted tongue, sliding switch tongues engageablc respectively withthe pivoted tongue and shrftmg member for shlt'tmg the pivoted tongue inopposite directions, a pair of sliding rods connected with said slidingswitch tongues, a lever coupling said rods for reverse movements inunison, and means for positively projecting either rod. 7 r

at. In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch line railsincluding a pivoted switch tongue, of a shifting member connected withsaid pivoted tongue, spearshaped sliding switch tongues having beveledsurfaces engageable respectively with the pivoted tongue and shiftingmember for shifting the pivoted tongue in opposite directions, a pair ofsliding rods connected with said sliding switch tongues, a leverconnecting said rods for movement in reverse directions in unison, andmeans for positively projecting either rod.

In a railway switch, the combination with main and branch linev railsincluding a pivoted switch tongue, of a shifting member connected withsaid pivoted tongue, sliding switch tongues engageable respectively withthe pivoted tongue and shifting member for shifting'the pivoted tonguein opposite directions, a pair of sliding rods connected with saidsliding switch tongues, connecting means between the rods for shiftingone rod rearwardly when the other is positively shifted forwardly andvice versa, throw members engageable with the rods, and

means for operating either throw membelw 6. In a railway switch, switchmechanism including a horizontal reciprocatory switch actuating rod, acounterweighted eccentrically pivoted lever having a convex cam surfacefor actuating said rod, and atraveling member having meansto engage andactuate said lever against its counterweight resistance. 1

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

JOHN J. OROURKE.

